Haulage system as applied to the mining industry



Oct. 3, 1944. E. A. LARSSON ETAL HAULAGE SYSTEM AS APPLIED TO,THE MINING INDUSTRY' Filed Jan. 30, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 5 a l/ M 2 d I- 2 Jim llllll w 3msentors ERNST A. Lazasspw 11.111150 L. Perez Oct. 3, 1944. 5 A. LARSSON ETAL 2,359,430

' HAULAGE SYSTEM AS AffPLIED TO THE MINING INDUSTRY Filed Jan. 50. 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 inventors Ezxsz AKLmasson ALANsaN L. PRICE Patented Oct. 3, 1944 HAULAGE SYSTEM AS APPLIED TO THE MINING INDUSTRY Ernst A. Larsson and Alanson L. Price, Mansfield, Ohio, assignors to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 30, 1943, Serial No. 474,166

14 Claims.

Our invention relates to haulage systems as applied to the mining industry and has particular reference to the equipment used in such industry whereby the automatic operation thereof is advanced.

One application of our invention is as followsin the case of the mining of material below the surface of the ground in which case the material is loaded in cars and brought to the surface by means of a hoist, a train of loaded cars coupled by means of automatic couplers is brought to the hoist to be raised to the surface of the ground and dumped.

Sometime prior to the end car passing onto the hoist platform the operator uncouples the coupling mechanism between the two end cars in which case the locking mechanism of at least one coupler head is automatically moved to and held in its unlocked position such that at least the end car is free to leave the train and move onto the hoist platform by the momentum given it by the moving train of cars which stops short of the hoist.

The loaded car on the platform is then hoisted to the surface of the ground, dumped and then lowered to its proper level below the ground surface.

The car to which the first or end car referred to above was coupled and which is now the end car of the train is now moved against the first car which has just been dumped and returned to the lower level thereby shoving the empty car off the platform and onto a ramp whereby it moves on down the ramp of its own weight to join and couple with other empties to form a train of empties.

The second car as it is passed onto the hoist will not couple with the empty car just lowered because the coupler onthe first or empty car had its coupler latching mechanism moved to and held in it unlocking position when the operator uncoupled the cars, also such car will not couple with the last car of the train of empties ahead of it unless the coupler latching mechanism on the coupler head of the said last car has been reset for automatically coupling upon engagement with a companion coupler head.

In order to automatically reset the locking mechanism on the empty car upon its leaving the hoist platform after its return below ground we have provided means to efiect such operation automatically so that when the coupler heads on two empties engage an automatic coupling will be effected.

The car referred to above are the usual cars used in mines and comprise an open top body mounted on four flanged wheels to move along a track.

In the drawings accompanying this specification we have not shown the car in full as its construction does not involve any advance features over the present art.

The couplers which are herein referred to may be of the male and female type shown in U. S. Letters Patent 2,235,618 of March 18, 1941, in which the locking mechanism is on one coupler head only, viz., the female head and we claim no improvements with respect to the coupler numbers per se.

Our invention resides principally in the new and novel construction combination and relation of the parts herein described and shown in the accompanying drawings, and which go to make up the means for automatically resetting the coupler locking mechanism, and in the system.

Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation of an'empty car moving across mechanism for automatically resetting the latching mechanism, shown in its unlocking position, to its locking condition.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of our tripping mechanism shown in Fig. 1 but unmounted on ties.

Fig. 3 is an end view of a portion of a car shown in Fig. l with the latching mechanism in its looking position just after the tripping mechanism has released it.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of one bracket support and the latch operating and resetting mechanism for holding the latch in its unlocking condition.

As already stated the car may be of most any construction desirable such as an open top body I, sills 2, two pair of wheels 3 and 3' with flanges 4 which are mounted on a track of which one rail is shown.

Mounted on the ends of the car are coupler heads 6 and 6' respectively adapted to couple with a coupler head on a companion car. In Fig. 3 the latch I and its operating and resetting mechanism are shown in their looking or coupling position while in Fig. 1 they are shown in the unlocking position ready to be automatically operated to the unlocking position.

The means for operating the latch l to its unlocking position comprises a rod 8 and handle 9 which are supported by the bracket bearings 10 and I l and so mounted as to rotate and slide longitudinally relative thereto. Mounted on the rod,

8 is the lever I2 to which one end of the chain and spring connection I3 is attached, the other end being attached to the latch I.

The bracket II is provided with the lug I4 such that when the lever I2 and latch I are raised by means of the handle 9 thus rotating the rod 8, andvthe rod then movedlaterally in the direction of the handle 9, the lever I2 will overlap and rest upon the lug I4 and the latch will be raised and held in its unlocking position. No portion of the resetting mechanism 8 to II inclusive projects beyond the sides of the car body.

In order to automatically release the latch I after the empty car has passed from the hoist platform it is only necessary to move the rod 8 longitudinally and release I2 from lug I4 and to accomplish this we provided means which is operated by the car as it [passes along the track 7 to join the other empty cars thus eliminating an operator for this purpose.

. Along the inner face of the rail 5 but spaced therefrom is a contact member I5 and a ramp I8 at each end. This contact-member is mounted on brackets I! which in turn are keyed to the shaft I8 to pivot in unison therewith about the longitudinal axis of the shaft I8.

The shaft I8 is supported by bearings I9 which are shown as mounted on the ties 20.

The brackets I! are counter-balanced by means of the weight 2I which is sufficient to normally maintain the contact member l5 and the ramps I6 in a raised position, the rail 5 acting as a stop for the upward movement of' the contact member I5 as shown in Fig. 4.

Mounted on the tie 22 is a third bearing I9 for supporting the end of the shaft I8. Also mounted on the tie 22 is additional mechanism L for tripIping the icoupler latching means from an unlocking position to a locking position.

' The mechanism L comprises a member 23 keyed to the shaft I8 to rotate therewith as the shaft rotates back and forth on its axis and is provided with foot means 24 projecting therefrom and which is raised and lowered as the shaft I8 rotates.

' Also mounted on the shaft I8 is the arm 25. The arm is provided with spaced hinge elements 26 between which is positioned the lower end. of

the arm 25 and secured thereto as by welding such that the arm 25 and hinge elements 26 rotate about the axis of the shaft I8 but independent thereof. a 7

Attached as by welding to the hinges 26 and holding them in spaced relation is a bar 21, and also attached as by welding to the lower edge of the hinges 26 is another bar or plate 28 which rests upon the tie 22 but moves with the hinges 28 and acts as a stop when the arm 25 is in the position shown in Fig. 7. The foot member 24 rests upon the bar or plate 28, and positioned between the members 21 and 28 is a spring 29 normally under some compression.

Secured to the upper end of the arm 25 is a shoe 30 with a bent or ramp portion 3I. The shoe is arranged so that it engages the side face of the car I which is usually of sheet steel and smooth but eventually engages the end of the rod 8 to. shift the rod and release th latch 1 from its unlocking position. The shoe 30 may be arranged to directly engage the end of the rod 8 under proper predetermined conditions.

It will be evident that as the rod I8 rotates under action of the car wheelsengaging the contact member I5 that the member 24-. will ;be

raised which in turn will raise the spring 29 and member 21. Members 26 will rotate about the axis of the shaft I8 thus swinging the free end of member 25 in the direction of the car since it is attached to the members 26. The plate 28 will be simultaneously raised from its seat on tie 22.

I The operation of our invention is such that when the wheel 3 mounts the contact member l5 and depresses the same (note dotted lines in Fig. l), the shaft I8 will be rotated (see Fig. 4). The rotation of the shaft I8 throws the free end of the arm 25 forward as explained above.

This brings the plate 30 into engagement with the smooth side face of the car under action of the compressed spring 29 or into direct engagement with the end of the rod 8.

When the car has moved forward sufliciently, the end of the car will pass the arm 25, and the spring 29 which is now under increased compression, will move the free end of the arm forward sufficiently beyond the side face of the car for the plate 30, if it first engages the side of the car, to engage the end of the slidable rod 8 (see Fig. 1) and move it longitudinally in its bracket bearings I0 and II thus releasing the lever I2 from the lug I4, permitting the lever I2 to drop and the latch I to automatically return to its locking position thus placing the coupler 6 in .condition to automatically couple by impact with a coupler on a car following.

It is necessary that certain conditions be observed in the construction and relation of the parts of our invention and with respect to the construction of the cars or vice versa in order to have the several operations effective.

(1) If the horizontal distance between B (the vertical diameter of the wheel 3) and C is shorter than the horizontal distance between A and D, then the end of the rod 8 will have passed the arm 25 before the arm swings forward and the latch will not be reset.

(2) If the horizontal distance between B and C is greater than the horizontal distance between A and D then the plate 30 of the arm 25 will engage the side of the car and a resetting of the latch I will take place when the end of the car has passed the arm 25.

(3) If the horizontal distance between B and C is the same as between A and D then the arm will move forward and strike the end of the rod 8 when the two are in alignment.

The point B may be defined as that point along the contact member or the ramp which, when depressed sufficiently by the car wheel of the car will operate the shaft I8 to effect operation of the arm 25.

While we have described our invention as operating in connection with an underground haulage system, it is evident it is applicable to a surface haulage system.

We do not limit ourselves to the details of construction shown and described because a large number of modifications may be readily conceived which will answer the purpose and perform the functions.

We claim:

1. In a haulage system, in combination, a track, a car mounted on the rails of said track and provided with a coupler at each end, each coupler arranged to automatically couple by impact with a coupler on. a companion car, means on the car wholly within the width of the end of the car to manually operate the coupler latch on one end of thecar to its unlocking position and means to releasably hold the latch in said position, and means movable transversely of the longitudinal axis of the car associated with one of the track rails and operated by the passing car to engage with and operate said manually operable means to release the latch whereby the latch will automatically return to its locking position.

2. In a haulage system, in combination, a

track, a car mounted on the track rails and provided with a coupler to automatically couple by impact with a coupler on a companion car, means on the car to manually operate the coupler latch to its unlocking position and means to releasably hold the latch in said position, and actuating means associated with the track rails and operated by means on the passing car engaging the said actuating means to operate said manually operable means to release the latch whereby the latch will automatically return to its locking position, the said actuating means movable transversely of the track rails and beyond the side face of the car toward the center of the track before it engages and operates the manually operable means. 7 3. In a haulage system, in combination, a track, a car mounted on the track rails, and provided with a car coupler to automatically couple by impact with a coulpler on a companion car, latching means on the car to automatically lock the couplers in coupled relation, holding means on the car positioned wholly between the side faces of the car to releasably hold said latching means inoperative, and actuating means positioned along the track rails and engageable by the wheels of said car and operable thereby to be brought into engagement with the holding means, the actuating means being cooperative with the holding means to release the latching means when the car passes the said actuating means whereby the latching means will return to its operative locking position, the actuating means movable transversely to the longitudinal axis of the car and beyond the face of the car before said cooperation with the holding means is possible.

4. A coupler tripping mechanism for use in connection with a haulage system comprising, in combination, a contact member positioned along the track rails of the system and adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a moving car to depress the contact member, an upright transversely movable arm associated with the tripping mechanism and adapted to engage transversely disposed operating means for the coupler mechanism on the said car to trip the coupling mechanism, and means associated with the contact member and said arm to move the arm into position whereby it will engage the operating means for said coupler mechanism on the passing car when the contact member is depressed.

5. Coupler tripping mechanism for use in connection with a haulage system comprising, in combination, a movable arm positioned along the track and arranged to cooperate with means to operate coupling mechanism disposed on the end of a passing car wholly within the side limits of the end face of the car to effect a resetting of the coupler mechanism whereby the coupler will automatically couple upon impact with a coupler on a companion car and means located adjacent the said track and affected by the passing car to effect automatic operation of the arm for the purpose described.

6. In a haulage system comprising, a track,

two or more cars mounted on the track rails and operable along said track, coupling means on each car to couple on impact with the coupler on a companion car, mechanism on said car ends to render said couplers incapable of being coupled upon impact, the combination with said system of tripping means along th track rails and operable in one direction by the wheels of a passing car to cooperate with said mechanism to effect a release of said mechanism whereby the coupler is rendered capable of automatically coupling with a companion coupler upon impact and means to move the tripping means in the other direction to prevent its being engaged by the adjacent end face of a companion car.

'7. A haulage system comprising, in combination, a track, two or more cars mounted for operation along said track, car coupling means on each car to couple upon impact with coupling means on a companion car, latching means on each vcarto effect a locking together of the come panion coupling means, mechanism mounted on an end face of said cars with no portions projecting laterally beyond the side faces of said cars and co-operative with said latching means to render it elfective or non-effective, movable means associated with the system to co-operate with the said mechanism at a predetermined point along the track to'operate the mechanism whereby the latching means is rendered effective to lock the companion couplers together, and means afiected by the passing car to effect an operation of the said movable means.

8. In a coupler tripping mechanism for use in connection with a hauling system equipped with automatic couplers and operating means therefor comprising an upright transversely movable arm positioned along the haulage track rails adjacent to a passing car of the system and mechanism for operating the arm to move it towards the car where it will cooperate with the operating means for the coupling mechanism on the said passing car, the combination with said arm operating mechanism of means controlled by the passing car to effect the operation of the coupler tripping mechanism in one transverse direction for the purpose described and other means to operate the tripping mechanism in the opposite transverse direction after operation of the coupler operating means.

9. A haulage system comprising, in combination, a track, a car mounted to move along the track rails and provided with a car coupler to automatically couple by impact with a coupler on a companion car, latching means on the car to automatically lock the couplers in COIllDlGd relation, elongated and transversely movable holding means on the car to releasably hold the latching means inoperative, auxiliary means. associated with the system and movable into a relation transversely with the end of said holding means wherebythe operation ofthe holding means to release the latching means will be effected and the latching means will automatically return to its operative locking position, the auxiliary means being normally out of operation relative with the holding means and means controlled by the movement of the car to effect operation of the auixiliary means to move it into said operative relation with the holding means.

10. A .coupler tripping mechanism for use in connection with a haulage system comprising in combination, a horizontally disposed elongated contact member positioned along the track rails of the system and adapted to be engaged and depressed by the wheels on a moving car, an upright arm pivoted at one end associated with the tripping mechanism and positioned along the track rails and arranged to engage operati-ng mechanism for controlling the coupling mechanism on the car to trip the locking mechanism therefor, operating means associated with the arm to move its free end transversely of the track past the adjacent face of the car and into operative engagement with the operating mechanism, and means interposed between the contact member and the said operating means whereby the vertical motion of the contact member is transferred to the arm operating means and means to return the arm to its former position after operation of the operating mechanism.

11. A haulage system comprising in comb-ination, a track, a car mounted on wheels on the track rails, and provided with a car coupler to automatically couple with a coupler on a compan-ion car, latching means on the car to automatically lock the couplers in coupled relation, laterally movable holding means on the car end face to releasably hold the latching means inoperative, a horizontally disposed contact member positioned along the track rails of the system and adapted to be engaged by the car wheels and depressed, an upright arm pivoted at one end positioned along the track rails in cooperative relation withthe holding means, operating means associated with the arm, means interposed between the contact member and the operating means to transmit the motion of the contact member to the operating means whereby the free end of the said arm is moved transversely of the track and past the side face of the car and into engagement with the end portion of the latch holding means to move the same laterally to trip the latch holding means and release the latch to its locking position.

12. A haulage system comprising in combination, track rails, a car mounted on wheels on the track rails, and provided with a car coupler to automatically couple with a coupler on a companion car, latching means on the car to automatically lock the couplers in coupled relation, holding means on the car to releasably hold the latching means inoperative, a contact member positioned along the track rails of the system and adapted to be engaged by the car wheels and depressed thereby, an upright arm pivoted at one end positioned along the track rails in co-operative relation with the holding means,

operating means associated with the arm, means interposed between the contact member and the operating means to transmit the motion of the contact member to the operating means whereby the free end of the said arm is moved transversely of the track rails and into engagement with the latch holding means to trip the latch holding means and release the latch to its locking position, the horizontal distance between the said arm and the effective advance end of the contact member to be less than the horizontal distance between the holding means and a vertical line through the axis of the front wheels of the car whereby the arm will first engage the side of the car and then move past the side of the car into engagement with the holding means as the car passes the arm.

13. A haulage system comprising in combination, a track, a car mounted on the track and provided with a carcoupler to automatically couple by impact with a coupler on a companion car, latching means on the car to automatically lock the couplers in coupled relation, holding means on the car to releasably hold the latching means inoperative, and operating means positioned along the track at a predetermined location to cooperate with the holding means to effect it operation to release the latching means whereby the latching means will return to its operative or locking position, and means associated with the operating means to effect operation of the said operating means, the operation of the each said means being controlled by the car as it passes a predetermined point along the track.

14. A haulage system comprising in combination, track rails, a car mounted on wheels on the track rails, and provided with a car coulp'ler to automatically couple with a coupler on a companion car, latching means on the car to automatically lock the couplers in coupled relation, holding means on the car to releasably hold the latching means inoperative, a contact member positioned along the track rails of the system and adapted to be engaged by the car wheels and depressed thereby, an upright arm pivoted at one end positioned along the track rails in eo-operative relation with the holding means, operating means associated with the arm, means interposed between the contact member and the operating means to transmit the motion of the contact member to the operating means whereby the free end of the said arm is moved transversely of the track rails and into engagement with the latch holding means to trip the latch holding means and release the latch to its locking position, the horizontal distance between the said arm and the effective advance end of the contact member to be equal to the horizontal distance between the holding means and a vertical line through the axis of the front wheels of the car whereby the arm will move directly into operative engagement with the holding means.

ERNST A. LARSSON. ALANSON L. PRICE. 

